Six Hours of Nerdy Overload: Covering Midwest Media Expo 2014

CLICK HERE FOR THE HIGHLIGHTS

From the creative event planning minds of Youmacon comes the next big convention in Detroit, the Midwest Media Expo!  In the first year of it's birth, this convention blends fandoms together in a unique and pleasing concoction of nerdy goodness.  I arrived shortly before 10am on Saturday (the 2nd day of the 3 day event) to the Renaissance Center in downtown Detroit, Michigan.  Overlooking the water of the Detroit river, this huge building is the home of General Motors main offices but also has vast amounts of convention space.  At first the crowds were trickling in, all completely geared up with cosplay and feverishly diving their heads into the convention guide and map.  That trickle would soon spill into a steady pouring of cosplayers in various colors, infesting the four floors that the convention had been occupying.

I started my journey like any Hobbit would, with a little adventure!  Finding my way into the Table Top Gaming area was not too difficult and as I entered the door, friendly convention staffers greeted me with "Hail Hydra!"  I immediately felt at home.  Looking around the convention room the tables were all full of seasoned veterans and novice players, seeking glory amongst friends (both old and new).  The variety of games available to play was vast!  A huge table towards the front of the door allowed players to reserve a table and select from a ginormous table of games.  From My Little Pony Monopoly to Pokemon to Magic The Gathering to Ticket to Ride and much more!  Off to my first panel I ran into several cosplay attendees that I just had to snap a photo of (with their permission of coarse).

 

Standing in the line for the Star Trek Continues panel allowed me the opportunity to turn to a fellow participant at the con and get a quick interview.  Certainly I would not know until after further talking to him that he does LARPing in Howell, Michigan and would be the perfect person to have on a future show to discuss the ins and outs of Live Action Role Playing!  The interview can be heard here, under the Midwest Media Expo section of our Out & About heading of the website.  

As we filed into the Star Trek Continues panel, the cast sat towards the front of the room and looked genuinely excited to be there!  That was quickly confirmed when you heard this talented group of Star Trek fans and NOW Trek superstars discuss why they decided make original fan-created episodes based off the original television series.  See a clip from the panel below.  The cast also gave the audience a sneak peek at episode two of Star Trek Continues with a special guest star!  One hint, at one point he was mean and green! 

Then it was off to find more interviews and cosplay stand outs to snap a picture of.  Didn't have to look far because I ran into a representative from something called the Harry Potter Alliance, a very interesting concept that melds HP fandom with service to both the local and worldwide community!  Check out the interview in the Out & About section of our website.  Here are a couple more cosplay pictures from my adventure.  

During my quick few minutes prior to joining the TMNT Panel, the video gaming room was calling me like a siren to the scurvy sea dogs and I had to answer her sweet electronic/8bit call.  The room was lit up with tons of screens, flashing and pulsating as the masses stared in pure joy at the giant variety of video gaming options.  From Pong to Dance Dance Revolution to 1st Person Shooters and Fighting Games!  You name it and it most likely was there.  I've never seen anything like it, not since my days of going to the arcade when I was a kid.  

After my trip down time-suck lane!  Isn't it amazing how quickly you can get pulled into a video game?  Anyways, I decided to make my way to the TMNT panel where Ivey (from Cowabunga Corner) and Andre (Black Nerd) were setting up for the beginning of their panel.  I found it extremely interesting!  They gave a blow by blow narration of the history of TMNT and how it had evolved over the years.  Check out some videos from the panel below.  

 

 

I couldn't stop there!  Vendors full of t-shirts, collectibles, original comics, swag, leather-made steam punk accessories, and a whole host of other goods were bustling with eager customers.  It felt like the perfect storm of Comic Book Shop meets Exclusives, mixed with a little Fashion for the Steam-powered Artisan in you!  By the end of my six hours I had realized that not only did I not stop for water or food, I had never even entertained the idea of going to the bathroom because I didn't want to miss anything.  With swollen feet and a sheer curiosity of what the rest of the day had in store for these convention junkies, I slowly made my way to the parking garage and heading home.  Next year I want to try and stay the entire day because only the fortunate convention goers who stayed past my six hours know what fabulous mysteries were unraveled before their eyes in the wee-hours of the night at Midwest Media Expo!  E-mail us your photos from Midwest Media Expo to notsocoolkidspodcast@gmail.com  Here is hoping we get invited back for 2015!

*ALL PHOTOS AND AUDIO INTERVIEWS AT THE OUT & ABOUT SECTION OF OUR WEBSITE!  CHECK US OUT AT WWW.THENOTSOCOOLKIDSPODCAST.COM

Upcoming Guests for Spring 2014!

Event Update: The Great Lakes Comic Con

Come see Brent Brozek (Co-Host of The Not So Cool Kids Podcast) at The Great Lakes Comic Con on Friday, February 28th & Saturday, March 1st.  This event is at Macomb Community College, South Campus in the Sports and Expo Center.  Admission is only $15 for both Friday and Saturday.  

For more information go to http://greatlakescomiccon.org/

Updates about 2014 events!!

Greetings "Not So Cool Kids!"

We are reaching out to you about some events we have updates for and some events we are announcing for the first time!  Good and bad news but regardless, we will make sure to follow up if you have any questions about these events.

1.) Charity Screening of 'Legends of the Knight' to Benefit Children's Leukemia Foundation of Michigan
YES, we've been approved.  The Not So Cool Kids Podcast and the Motor City Comic Con will be hosting a charity screening of the inspirational superhero-themed documentary 'Legends of the Knight.'  Filmmaker Brett Culp has traveled around the country, gathering stories from every day people that have overcome struggles in their life based on their love for the Batman.  I'm looking forward to it because the trailer looks awesome!!  The event will be Thursday, May 15th from 7:30pm - 9:11pm at AMC 20 in Livonia, Michigan and we won't begin selling tickets until April 11th but you can follow the event page here- https://www.tugg.com/go/x8kmrd  This is a one-time only, exclusive event that has limited seating!  Make sure to follow our website and Facebook page for updates so you can be the first to get your tickets.  One of our goals for 2014 is to give back to the community so this event will be a charity event for Children's Leukemia Foundation of Michigan.

2.) International Broke Student Film Festival
Join filmmakers and fans for the 3rd Annual IBSFF Awards Ceremony and screenings of films throughout the event starting April 4th through April 6th at Lawrence Technological University (21000 W. Ten Mile Rd., Southfield, MI).  The Not So Cool Kids Podcast will be at the Awards Ceremony on Sunday interviewing guests and filmmakers.  To see some unique, original, and independent works on film come out and join us all week as we celebrate the beauty of film-making from around the world.

Detroit Fanfare Comic Con 2013 Video Recaps...

Three days is a lot to cover for a convention as large as Detroit Fanfare but we have been editing and compiling the video we've captured from the event.  Below is some of the videos you can view to give you just a taste of what we experienced throughout the weekend.  Please feel free view our Detroit Fanfare coverage as it took a large staff from NSCK and a ton of preparation.  Plus if you support us, we support the show, we see the value of getting a table next year and the circle continues.  Thanks!

Loitering in Artist Alley

http://youtu.be/pU5cctNJHlU

"You got to be more excited" 

http://youtu.be/wcBdsCKylO4

Action Labs Action-Packed Chat

http://youtu.be/Kx0o7LYMris

Interview with Norm Breyfogle

http://youtu.be/UrJokemqDN8

"Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner!"

http://youtu.be/NooNAfbBO7I

Talking with 501st & Rebel Legion

http://youtu.be/o0K-gQoFFYw

(2) Live Podcasts from Detroit Fanfare Comic Con 2013
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7QE4GDfQfM&feature=share
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbRku00sa9U&feature=share

Delightfully Detroit Fanfared...

I'm always astonished by the unbelievable talent and immense brilliance that the Michigan nerd-culture community can combine in one gathering!  The Not So Cool Kids Podcast (Brian Titus, Brent Brozek, Michael Lomas, and Kat Ruff) invaded Detroit Fanfare Comic Con 2013 to cover the event as press but also had the opportunity to LIVE podcast twice and hand out tons of prizes throughout the three day event.  I must say that it was my first time attending Detroit Fanfare and although I've been to other conventions my expectations were met above and beyond!  As I stated in my initial sentence this amalgamation of artists, vendors, talented media guests, kid events, and the what I refer to as "the surprise factor" (which is all the acts you just didn't expect to see at a convention) melded all together to make one extremely fantastic ride through the rabbit hole.

Dare I say it, I feel like this is the convention that we need right now!  For years I've heard the fans cry out for their comic book conventions to be less commercialized and more about the words "talented" and "local."  From my perspective you have to simply applaud Detroit Fanfare's effort to feature those exact themes in not one, not two, but three rooms teeming with local and national artists of ALL kinds, vendors that range from the familiar to the "whaaaa?," and media guests that were tastefully displayed without overpowering the rest of the convention.  Despite not having full access to the media guests, I think I'm some what glad we were able to just talk mostly to the artists, vendors, and attendees.  The pulse on the celebration was very uplifting and being able to see all that energy pulsing the doors off the Adoba Hotel in Dearborn, Michigan was just a pleasure.

Highlights included a sporadic choice to do a second live podcast on day two, interviewing some very fun artists from the alley, speaking with Dan Fogler (perhaps one of the best interviews of the convention), seeing the kids light up throughout the convention when they see their favorite superhero or character, sitting in on the Billy West & Maurice LaMarche panel, and the video gaming area.  As we sift through our footage and look back on this weekend I will probably get some more delayed smiles from moments that I now get to reminisce about, just in time to get me through until our next convention coverage for Chi-Fi in Chicago early next year.  Thank you to the promoters and to Larry from the media department for being so gracious and allowing us to cover this event.  I think The Not So Cool Kids Podcast may spring for a booth next year so we can LIVE broadcast throughout the convention and not miss a minute of the action.  Until we meet again!

Rob St. Mary's Reel Recap

Top Ten Films by Rob St. Mary

10 - Most Werner Herzog films but chiefly “Aguirre: The Wrath of God” and “Fitzcarraldo”. Working with the crazed but amazing Klaus Kinski, Herzog tells stories of men driven by ambition into the wilderness: one, it’s the drive for gold and the other, a drive to bring art to a small town in the Amazon. Herzog is one of the greatest filmmakers of the past 50 years who can work both ends of the film spectrum – as a fiction storyteller and a documentarian.

9 - “Pulp Fiction” – Quentin Tarantino’s 1994 film is the high water mark of his career. It was innovative for taking ideas from the French New Wave, film noir, Blaxploitation and making it hip for modern American audiences. I saw this when it came out in the theater when I was in high school and it really lit a fire under my imagination when it came to film. I believe I’ve seen “Pulp Fiction” more times in a theater than any other film, 13 times.

8 - “Dawn of the Dead” – the zombie film that can’t be topped. George A. Romero’s 1978 film is about more than just bloodletting and horror. The film is a statement on consumerism, small group dynamics and how we live. The remake is bad. But, I just don’t feel that dead people should run.

7 - “Battles Without Honor and Humanity” – Kinji Fukasaku is one of the most overlooked Japanese directors. While it’s easy to like Kurosawa’s samurai films, Fukasaku’s movies may be violent but it’s very humanistic. This is not violence entertainment sake. It’s shocking, bloody and awful – just like how violence truly is in real life. Fukasaku’s “Battles Without Honor and Humanity” series – shot over 2 years in the early 1970s – is a five film arc telling the tale of rival gangs in post-atomic bombed Hiroshima. This series makes “The Godfather” look like kindergarten and never loses a step.

http://projection-booth.blogspot.com/2012/06/episode-67-battles-without-honor-and.html

6 - “A Clockwork Orange” – I saw this film at the age of 9. My father wanted to show it to me the day we got our VCR. Hardly a kid’s film, but even then I knew it was something special, even if I didn’t know why. Today, I see it as Kubrick’s philosophical masterpiece. Sure, “2001” is visually stunning. “The Killing” is a masterwork of non-linier story telling. Basically, I could say every one of his films is amazing piece in its own way – but “A Clockwork Orange” has always been the film I come back to. It’s a film that talks about what humanity truly is, even at its most inhumane.

5 - “The Dark Knight” – More than a Batman movie, but one of the best comic book movies ever. The Dark Knight is an examination of the post-9/11 America and the War on Terrorism. 

4 - “Brazil” – Terry Gilliam’s darkly comic “1984”-like tale is about the nightmare of structure and bureaucracy run amok. It also shows that behind all the plans and facades of the order lies a chaos that cannot be controlled. It also offers one of the most hopeful downer endings ever.

3 - “There Will Be Blood” – Paul Thomas Anderson’s greatest film to date. This will be the movie that will be on the “SIGHT AND SOUND” greatest films of all time lists in 20 or 30 years. “There Will Be Blood” is a digs deep into the twin drivers of the American story – business and religion.

http://projection-booth.blogspot.com/2013/09/episode-133-there-will-be-blood.html

2 - “Blade Runner” – What needs to be said about it? It’s an existential neo-noir that asks us fundamental questions about what it means to be human. Also, I don’t care what Ridley Scott says; Deckard is not a replicant – END OF DEBATE!

http://www.projection-booth.blogspot.com/2012/09/special-report-blade-runner.html

1 - “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie” – Luis Bunuel’s 1972 surrealist comedy of manners is so important to me that the first, and so far – only, tattoo that I have is the poster art to this film. It tells the tale of two couples, a single woman and a priest who keep trying to meet for dinner, but fate has other plans. Everything from they showed up on the wrong day for dinner to finding themselves on stage to live fire military exercises taking place on the front lawn keeps them from stuffing their faces. The first time I saw this, I hated it. I didn’t get it at all. I came back about ten years later and it makes so much sense to me. Funny, considering Bunuel was always cagy about talking about his films, their themes in meanings. But, I guess that’s why it works for me.

https://www.facebook.com/events/154559924716730/

Also, be sure to check out 'The Projection Booth' podcast Facebook page for more updates about the schedule of shows and a whole ton more!!